In stages, a creation comes together - Collaborators’ unique approaches bring ‘Disappearing Woman’ to life.... dancer-choreographers [Alissa] Cardone, [Bronwen] MacArthur, and [Lorraine] Chapman and media artist-choreographer [Nell] Breyer have fused their approaches and styles in an original work, “The Disappearing Woman,’’ presented by Summer Stages Dance. The multimedia piece makes its world premiere July 11 at the Institute of Contemporary Art.

It’s tone is a bit softer, but troupe’s still sharp....[Karole Armitage's] mission was to grab ballet by the throat, then rip and warp and push it into the aesthetics of now. It’s given her a unique place in dance time: when punk met port de bras.

These days, Armitage’s tone is softer, more mature and reflective, as Thursday night’s performance by her troupe Armitage Gone! Dance showed. The downside is that it has less bite.

From four choreographers, one bold balancing actWhat do you get when you mix four adventurous choreographers, one of whom is also a new media artist, with a raft of contemporary and historic influences, from Hieronymus Bosch to Louise Bourgeois to traditional magic acts, all addressing the challenges of self-expression and identity in our fast-paced world? On Saturday night at the Institute of Contemporary Art, what we got was “The Disappearing Woman,’’ ....

Extremities - Postmodern dance takes flightPostmodern dance's conceptual, physical, and metaphysical roots spread far and wide, as four summer festival performances attested last week. The three newly minted works and a 30-year-old classic all used invented movement vocabularies with a tip of the hat to the formalities of ballet, they all applied highly theatrical staging effects, and none of them looked the least bit like the others.

With Elam, expect the unexpectedChoreographer Chris Elam’s glistening, contorted abstractions will tie your mind in knots even as they wrench your heart. His dances ... are a collision of the mundane and the bizarre, lit by sparks of human frailty and lilting efforts to connect. They will crack wide your conception of how far dance - and human bodies - can go.

Stuck-togetherness - Chris Elam's Misnomer DanceChris Elam's dancers don't resemble the sleek prodigies currently vaulting across our stages. Not that they lack dance training, but they don't have that groomed, purebred look. They're more like characters, individuals, who've arrived to dismantle their physical suppositions in front of an audience, whatever the cost to their vanity.

Revelations and a celebrationFor 10 years, David Parker has been bringing his talented company and irreverent choreography to Summer Stages Dance at Concord Academy. It’s always a bit like a homecoming for the New York-based Parker (he was raised in Lynnfield), and at Thursday night’s anniversary celebration, a packed, enthusiastic audience contributed to the party-like atmosphere.

An ode to motherhood - and community....Choreographer Germaul Barnes and filmmaker/choreographer Gabri Christa’s “Mama etcetera,’’ a site-specific work given its world premiere Saturday afternoon as part of Summer Stages Dance, was conceived as an ode to family and motherhood. But what emerges more strongly is the lovely spirit of simple community.

Annie variations - David Parker at Summer StagesThe Bang Group's performance at Concord Academy Thursday night wrapped the audience in rings of intimacy and surprise. Choreographer/director David Parker, acting as MC, paid loving tribute to Summer Stages Dance, where he and the company have appeared and taught for 10 years.

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